The Daily

A Public Hearing, and a Feud Over Ukraine

Nov 14, 2019

Michael S. Schmidt, a national security and federal investigations reporter for The New York Times, provides insider analysis on a historic impeachment hearing. He discusses the tense climate as William B. Taylor Jr. and George P. Kent reveal the complexities of U.S. foreign policy toward Ukraine. The conversation delves into the implications of tying military aid to political investigations and highlights the fierce partisan divides in Congress. Listeners will gain insight into how this inquiry could influence the 2020 election and reshape presidential accountability.

27:19

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Episode guests

Michael S. Schmidt

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Episode notes

Intro

3min

Impeachment Inquiry: The Ukraine Connection

12min

Examining the Impacts of Political Investigations on U.S. Aid to Ukraine

6min

Examining Testimony and Evidence in the Impeachment Hearing

5min

Exploring Presidential Accountability and the Role of Journalism

5min

The House of Representatives opened historic impeachment hearings on Wednesday, with William B. Taylor Jr. and George P. Kent, senior career civil servants, caught in the crossfire. Democrats underscored the constitutional import of the proceedings, while Republicans branded the whole investigation into President Trump’s dealings with Ukraine a sham. Mr. Taylor and Mr. Kent — carefully, if cinematically — detailed the emergence of a shadow foreign policy, one which had the capacity to determine the fate of an ally in the face of Russian aggression.

We discuss what this phase of the impeachment inquiry could mean for the president — and for the 2020 election.

Guest: Michael S. Schmidt, who covers national security and federal investigations for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

Background reading:

Mr. Taylor said that, in a call with Gordon D. Sondland, the American ambassador to the European Union, President Trump had made clear he cared “more about the investigations of Biden” than Ukraine’s security.
Here are key moments from the first public impeachment hearing.

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